Operating mechanism for washing-machines.



A.S.NERO.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. I9I5.

1,178,593. Patented Apr. 11, 1916.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

amen/box I A. 5., N E 0 A. S. NERO.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED MAR;29,1915.

1,178,593. Patented Apr. 11,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

Application filed March 29, 1915. Serial No. 17,855.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALLEN tineau, in the county of Bottineau and Stateof North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOperating Mechanism for lVashing-Machines, of which the following is' aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My present invention relates broadly to new and useful improvements inwashing machines and similar articles and has particular. reference tothat class known as pounder machines.

In my Patent Number 934,458, I have dis- I closed a machine of the abovecharacter in which the plunger operating'mechanism is so constructedthat upon each reciprocation of the plungers, they will turn. through asmall are so that they are, during the use of the machine, continuouslypresented to the clothes lying in difierent parts of the tub.

The principal object of my present invention is to provide an improvedoperating I mechanism for the plunger which will efficiently accomplishthis desired ob ect of turning the plungers through a small arc uponeach reciprocation of the plunger rod.

The above, and other incidental objects of a similar nature, which willbe hereinafter more specifically treated are accomplished by such meansas are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the fol-.lowing specification, and then more particularly pointed out in theclaims which are appended hereto and form part of this application.

WVith reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated thepreferred embodiment of this invention, as it is reduced to practice,and throughout the several views of whlch similar reference numeralsdes1gnate correspondlng parts, Flgure 1 1s a front elevation; Fig. 2 isa' top plan view; Fig. 3

i's'a vertical section, showing the plunger in elevated pos1t1on; andFig. 4 1s a vertlcal section; showing the plunger in lowered position. 1

As best disclosed asan operative entirety in Fig. 1 of the accompanyingdrawings, my

improved machine includes a plurality of funnel-shaped plungers 10 whichare yieldably attached to and carried by a body bar 11. These plungersare, of course, mounted for reciprocation within the tub (not shown) andareactuated by means of a plunger rod S. Nnuo,"a citi zen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bot- I tially U-shaped frame, the blght bar 14 of 12and an operating mechanism which is mounted upon the cover 13 of thetub. The operatlng mechanism includes a substanwhich constitutes anattaching plate 15, through which bolts 16 are passed to secure the barto the member 13., The vertical arm 7 17 of this U-shaped frame isprovided at its upper. end with a'bearing 18, in which the crankshaft 19is terminally j ournaled. The other end of this crankshaft is journaledin a bearing 20 formed on the upper end of a. vertical bracket arm 21which is provided with a lateral foot 22 adapted to be received betweena pair of upstanding lugs 23 formed on the bar 14 and to be held in position thereon by a bolt or similar fastening device24. Collars 25and26, provided with set screws 27 are applied to the main shaft and.disposed against the opposite ends of the bearings 18 for holding theshaft against longitudinal 'movement therethrough. The

,oiiterend of the main shaft is'preferably equipped with a crank wheel28, although a crank or' similardevice may be employed, if, desired. 7 Ij Adjacent to one terminal, the body bar.14 is provided with a guidesleeve 29 through i which freely extends the plunger rod 12. The upperend of the plunger rod carries a sleeve 30 in which it is rotatable andfrom which it is held against withdrawal by means of a cap 31. This cap31 is, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 threaded upon the upper terminal of theplunger rod. The lowerend of the sleeve 30 bears upon the annularshoulder 32 which is formed at the junction ofthe enlarged and reducedportions of the plunger rod, A vertically extending guide rib 33 isformed exteriorly on the sleeve 30 and is seated for verticalreciprocation through the slot or groove 34 formed in the terminal ofthe horizontal arm 35. The arm 35 extends at right anglesto the arm 36of the U-shaped frame, as best shown in Fig. 1. It will nowfbe seen thatthe sleeve 30 is adapted to reciprocate with the plunger rod and thatvthe rod is rotatable therein, the sleeve being held against rotation bythe rib 33.

1 In operatively connecting the crank shaft 7 and the sleeve 30 so thatthe rotation of the shaft will cause the reciprocation of this memberand consequently of the plunger 110 with the sleeve and extends in ahorizontal plane. The cross head is provided with a longitudinallyextending slot in which is disposed the roller 39 carried on theterminal stub 40 of the crank. Upon reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it willbe seen that the rotation of the main shaft will, through the medium ofthe crank, cause the vertical reciprocation of the cross head andconsequently of the plunger rod.

Mounted upon the plunger rod immediately below the sleeve 30, is aratchet wheel 41, the integrally formed collar 42 of which is keyed tothe plunger rod by means of a set screw 43. It will now be seen that ifthe ratchet wheel is given a partial turn, during each reciprocation ofthe plunger rod, that the plungers 10 will be constantly turned so as tobe engaged against all the clothes lying in the tub at differentportions thereof. As a means for giving this desired partial turn to theratchet wheel, once during each reciprocation of the plunger rod, Iemploy a substantially L-shaped pawl which is formed from a singlelength of wire bent to produce a-pair of rectangularly related arms 44and 45. and an eyelet 46 which is formed at the junction of these arms.This eyelet 46 receives the pivot bolt 47 which passes through ahorizontally disposed bracket arm 48 formed integrally with the arm 21.The terminals of the arms 44 and 45 are bent at right angles so thatthey project over the periphery of the ratchet wheel. The stub 49 of thearm 44 is disposed above the ratchet wheel, while the stub 50 of the arm45 is disposed below the ratchet wheel.

Relative to the operation of the double arm pawl, it is to be noted thatwhen the ratchet wheel is in lowermost position, at the termination ofthe downward movement of the plunger rod, it has engaged the stub 50,swinging the arm 45 to vertical position and the arm 44 to horizontalposition. Upon thereturn upward movement of the plunger rod, the ratchetwheel engages the stub 49 and. swings the arm 44 on up above ahorizontal position. This upward swinging movement of the arm 44, ofcourse, causes the movement of the stub toward the verti cal plane ofthe U-shaped frame. Thus the ratchet wheel is given a partial turn andthe plungers are consequently also partially rotated. Stop shouldersindicated at 51 and 52 are provided to limit the swinging move-IIlfBII'G of the arms 44 and 45 beyond an arc 0 90.-

From the foregoing description it will now be observed that I havedesigned a relatively simple and, at the same time, efficiently operatedmechanism which serves to simultaneously reciprocate and turn theplungers in the machine. I desire to now emphasize the fact that theratchet wheel constitutes not only the means which is actuated by thepawl for turning the plunger, but that it also constitutes the means forre turning the pawl to its initial position upon the downward movementof the plunger.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of thisinvention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the abovedescription as the preferred embodiment is the most efficient andpractical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with theadoption of this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable toemphasize the fact that various minor changes in the details ofconstruction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to,when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of thisinvention, as defined by the appended claims.

l Vhat is claimed is: r Y

1. In an actuating mechanism for vertically reciprocable plunger rods,means for reciprocating the plunger rod, a ratchet wheel keyed on theplunger rod, and a double arm pawl having one arm engage able with theupper face of the ratchet wheel andthe other arm engageable with thelower face of the ratchet wheel, said pawl being operable for-turningthe wheel once during each reciprocation of the plunger rod.

2. In an actuating mechanism for vertically reciprocable plunger rods,means for reciprocating the plunger rod, a ratchet wheel keyed on theplunger rod, and a double arm pawl engageable with the ratchet wheel forturning the plunger rod in an arc, during each upstroke thereof, thearms of said pawl being disposed at right angles to each other and beinglocated one above and one below the ratchet wheel, said ratchet wheelbeing adapted to engage one arm during the down stroke of the rod forsetting the other arm and being adapted to engage said last mentionedarm upon the upstroke of the plunger rod and to be turned thereby.

3. The combination with a reciprocatable plunger rod, of means forintermittently rotating the rod, said means including a ratchet wheelfixed upon the rod and a pawl mounted upon a fixed pivot for oscillationin a plane parallel to the direction of reciprocation of the rod, thepawl having a body portion extending in a plane parallel to the plane ofreciprocation of the ratchet wheel and having a terminal end extendingover the face of the ratchet wheel, and means for limiting the movementof the pawl in one direction to thereby permit the ratchet wheel to moveout of. engagement with the pawl upon a stroke in one direction and intoengagement with the pawl upon a stroke in the other direction.

4. In an actuating mechanism for vertically reciprocable plunger rods,means for reciprocating the plunger rod, and means for periodicallyturning the rod, said means including a ratchet wheel fixed upon therod, and a double arm pawl mounted for oscillation and having arelatively stationary pivot, one arm of said pawl being periodicallyengageable with the ratchet wheel for turning the same, the other arm ofsaid pawl being actuated upon the downward movement of the plunger rodto swing the first mentioned arm into operative position for engagementwith the ratchet wheel, upon the upward movement of the rod.

5. In an actuating mechanism for verti: cally reciprocable plunger rods,means for reciprocating the plunger rod, and means Copies of this patentmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofPatents,

for periodically turning the rod, said means including a ratchet wheelfixed upon the rod, a double arm pawl mounted for oscillation in avertical plane upon a relatively stationary pivot, the arms of said pawlbeing angularly related and being alternately engageable with theratchet wheel during the reciprocation of the same.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. ALLEN S. NERO.

Witnesses:

L. H. SMITHAND, S. H. WILSON.

' Washington, D. 0.

